TEE  HISTORY  OF  SECESSION. 

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R.S.Donne  11 
in 
Rebellion  Record,¥ol.7,1864, 


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Bnmmtv  of  Jl^ottl)  Carolina 


Collection  oi  j]2orti)  Caroimiana 

(gnUotneli  ht 

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o£  tyt  Classg  of  1889 


Q>  970-li 


"Ms  BC    "   ~>av  be  kept  ou'  TWO  WEEKS 


DOCUMENTS. 


253 


a  copy  of  this  despatch,  with  a  copy  of  the  papers 
appended,  to  her  Majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
J.  P.  Benjamin, 

Secretary  of  State. 

H<jn.  James  M.  Mason, 

Commissioner,  etc.  etc.,  London. 


Doc.  46. 
THE  HISTORY  OF  SECESSION. 

BY  A  SOUTHERN  MAN. 

Me.  Editor:  There  is,  so  far  as  I  remember, 
ho  war  to  be  met  with  in  history  entirely  analo- 
gous to  the  one  now  raging  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  That  produced  by  an  attempt 
on  the  part  of  three  of  the  Swiss  Cantons  to  sep- 
arate themselves  from  the  Confederation  a  few 
years  since,  in  some  respects  resembles  it  most 
nearly.  That  attempt,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  arrested,  and  the  rebellious  Cantons  speedily 
reduced  to  submission  by  the  arms  of  the  Con- 
federacy. It  is  frequently  compared  to  our  rev- 
olutionary struggle  with  the  mother  country,  but 
there  is  scarcely  any  analogy  between  the  two 
cases.  The  thirteen  Colonies  were  not  like  the 
Southern  States,  equal  in  political  rights  with  the 
other  States  of  the  British  Empire.  They  pos- 
sessed no  sovereign  power  whatever.  They  were 
not,  as  we  were,  entitled  to  representation  in  the 
common  Parliament  of  the  British  Union,  but 
were  mere  Colonies--— mere  dependencies  upon 
the  mother  country.  In  an  evil  hour  the  admin- 
istration of  George  Grenville,  and  afterward  that 
of  Lord  North,  attempted  to  impose  an  unjust 
tax  upon  the  Colonies.  This  oppression  was  re- 
sisted, and  the  resistance  was  made  the  pretext 
for  other  oppression  more  unjust  still.  The  Col- 
onies continued  their  resistance  in  a  constitutional 
way  for  near  ten  years,  by  representations,  re- 
monstrances, and  petitions,  for  the  redress  of 
grievances  ;  but  all  in  vain.  At  length  they  took 
up  arms,  with  the  avowed  object  of  enforcing  j 
such  redress.  They  solemnly  disclaimed  all  in- 
tention of  separation  from  the  parent  State,  for 
they  were  as  loyal  in  their  feelings  of  attachment 
to  the  British  Constitution  as  were  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Surrey  or  Cornwall.  This  resolute  step 
they  confidently  expected  would  procure  the  de- 
sired redress ;  but  the  advice  of  all  the  ablest 
statesmen  at  that  age — of  Chatham,  of  Camden, 
of  Burke,  of  Fox,  of  Rockingham  and  others,  was 
thrown  away  on  the  narrow-minded  monarch  and 
the  bigoted  ministry  which  then  swayed  the  des- 
tinies of  the  British  Empire.  Still  in  hope,  they 
continued  the  struggle  for  one  whole  year.  At 
length  the  British  Parliament  declared  the  Colo- 
nies out  of  the  protection  of  the  parent  State. 
And  then  at  last  no  other  course  was  left  them 
but  to  proclaim  their  independence,  and  defend  it 
if  need  be  with  their  life's  blood.  The  battle  of 
Lexington  was  fought,  on  the  nineteenth  of  April, 
1775,  and  on  the  twelfth  of  April,  1776,  the  Pro- 
vincial  Congress  of  North-Carolina  empowered 


their  delegates  in  Congress  to  concur  with  the 
delegates  of  the  other  Colonies  in  "declaring  inde- 
pendence and  forming  foreign  alliances,"  and  on 
the  fifteenth  of  the  following  month  Virginia, 
through  her  Convention,  instructed  her  delegates 
in  the  Continental  Congress  "to  propose  to  that 
body  to  declare  the  United  Colonies  free  and  in- 
dependent States,  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to, 
or  dependence  on,  the  Crown  or  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain,"  and  on  the  fourth  of  July  follow- 
ing the  ever  memorable  Declaration  was  made. 

But  how  different  has  been ,  the  course  of  the 
Secessionists.  They  seem  to  have  resolved  years 
ago  that  the  Union  should  be  destroyed,  and  then 
to  have  set  themselves  to  work  to  forge  such 
grievances  as  would  seem  to  give  them  a  decent 
pretext  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  premedi- 
tated schemes.  The  first  effort  was  made  in  the 
days  of  nullification  by  the  Secessionists  of  South- 
Carolina.  The  grievance  then  complained  of  was 
the  tariff,  although  the  State  of  South-Carolina, 
herself,  had  been  from  the  foundation  of  the  Gov- 
ernment nearly  up  to  that  period,  as  strong  an 
advocate  of  a  high  tariff  as  any  State  in  New- 
England.  That  question  was  compromised —  4 
South-Carolina  obtained  all  that  she  ostensibly 
demanded.  A  revenue  tariff,  with  incidental 
protection,  became  the  settled  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  except  for  a  short  period  under  the 
tariff  of  1842,  was  never  departed  from.  But 
still  they  were  not  satisfied.  Immediately  after 
the  passage  of  Mr.  Clay's  compromise  bill,  the 
newspaper  organ  of  the  Secessionists  at  Wash- 
ington, declared  "  that  the  South  could  never  be 
united  on  the  tariff  question,  and  that  the  slave 
question  was  the  only  one  that  could  unite  them." 
And  Mr.  Calhoun,  if  I  mistake  not,  said  the  same 
thing  in  a  speech  at  Abbeville,  in  South-Carolina, 
about  the  same  time  ;  and  of  course  was  followed 
by  all  lesser  lights  among  his  adherents.  Then 
'commenced  that  violent  agitation  of  the  Slavery 
question  which  had  nearly  culminated  upon  the 
admission  of  California  in  1850.  Again,  by  the 
efforts -of  those  immortal  statesmen  of  the  last 
age,  Messrs.  Webster,  Clay,  and  others,  was  the 
matter  compromised.  The  whole  country  at  first 
appeared  to  be'  satisfied  with  the  settlement,  but 
it  soon  appeared  that  there  were  a  number  of 
restless  spirits  among  the  extremists  of  the  South, 
that  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  a 
dissolution  of  the  Union.  Of  this  class  of  politi- 
cians, W.  L.  Yancey  may  be  fitly  selected  as  rep- 
resentative man.  He  immediately  began  to  agitate 
the  question  again.  He  went  to  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  at  Baltimore,  in  1852,  as  a 
delegate  from  the  State  of  Alabama,  and  there 
proposed  as  the  ultimatum  on  which  he  could 
continue  to  act  with  the  Democratic  party,  and 
upon  whichj  in  his  opinion,  the  Slave  States  could 
consent  to  remain  in  the  Union,  that  the  doctrine 
of  non-intervention  by  Congress  in  regard  to 
slavery  in  the  territories  should  be  incorporated 
into  the  Democratic  platform.  In  this  he  failed, 
and  therefore  did  not  support  the  nominee  of  the 
Convention,  Mr.  Pierce.  He  could  not,  however, 
at  that  time,  succeed  in  creating  a  great  schism 


P  34\^ 


254 


REBELLION  RECORD,  1863. 


in  the  Democratic  party,  so  great  had  heen  the 
culm  which  the  compromise  measures  of  1850  had 
produced.  In  1856  he  again  went  as  a  delegate 
from  the  State  of  Alabama  to  the  Cincinnati  Con- 
vention, with  his  old  ultimatum  in  his  pocket. 
Contrary  to  his  wishes  and  expectations,  it  was 
incorporated  into  the  Cincinnati  platform,  and 
being  thus  left  without  an  excuse,  he  supported 
Mr.  Buchanan  for  the  Presidency  in  the  •  fall  of 
that  year.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  that  fatal 
measure,  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise, 
had  been  consummated.  It  was  brought  about  by 
the  extremists  of  the  South,  aided  by  a  few  par- 
tisan Democrats  of  the  North.  The  avowed  ob- 
ject of  its  authors  was  to  open  to  Slavery  the  ter- 
ritories north  of  the  Missouri  compromise  line, 
notwithstanding  the  agreement  of  1820  that  said 
line  should  forever  divide  the  territories  between 
the  slave  and  free.  States.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  the  compromise  of  1820  was  unconstitution- 
al, but  what  is  that  to  the  purpose?  It  was  a 
most  solemn  compact  between  the  two  sections 
of  the  country,  made  for  the  settlement  of  a  most- 
perplexing  question,  and  without  any  reference 
to  its  constitutionality,  should  have  been  regard- 
ed as  an  organic  law,  and  observed  as  sacredly 
as  the  Constitution  itself. 

The  effect  of  this  measure  was  great  and  rapid, 
and  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  it  was  such 
as  a  majority  of  its  authors  contemplated.  The 
result  was  the  formation  of  a  great  party  at  the 
North  opposed  to  the  further  extension  of  Slave- 
ry, and  which  party  very  nearly  succeeded  in 
electing  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  Mr. 
Fremont,  in  1856. 

After  the  election,  this  party  seemed  to  be  on 
the  wane,  until  the  anti-Slavery  spirit  of  the 
whole  North  was  aroused  to  madness,  by  an  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  administra- 
tion to  force  the  Lecompton  Constitution  wit.h 
Slavery  upon  the  people  of  Kansas,  in  opposition 
to  the  known  and  expressed  wish  of  three  fourths 
of  them.  But  for  this  most  unjustifiable  measure 
the  Republican  party  would  undoubtedly  have 
dwindled  down  to  moderate  proportions  ;  and 
even  after  this,  it  is  doubtful  if  they  could  have 
succeeded  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1 860,  if 
the  Secessionists  with  Yancey  at  their  head,  had 
not  determined  that  they  should  succeed.  After 
Mr.  Yancey  and  his  party  had,  against  their  wish- 
es, succeeded  in  getting  their  ultimatum  of  non- 
intervention incorporated  into  the  Cincinnati 
platform,  they  went  to  work  to  conjure  up  another 
to  present  to  the  Charleston  Convention.  Aban- 
doning their  doctrine  of  non-intervention,  they 
went  to  the  opposite  extreme  and  demanded  that 
the  intervention  of  Congress  for  the  protection  of 
slavery  in  the  territories  should  constitute  a  part 
of  the  Charleston  platform.  This  demand  they 
well  knetv  would  not  be  complied  with,  nor  did 
they  desire  that  it  should  be.  Their  object  was 
to  procure  the  secession  of  the  delegates  of  the 
Cotton  States  from  the  Convention,  and  thus  by 
defeating  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Douglas,  and 
rending  asunder  the  Democratic  party,  to  insure 
the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  thereby  forge  for 


themselves  a  grievance  which  would  seem  to  jus- 
tify them  in  the  execution  of  their  long  meditated 
designs  of  destroying  the  Union.  All  of  this  they 
accomplished,  and  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
perhaps  hailed  with  greaterjoy  at  Charleston  than 
at  New-York.  I  will  do  them  the  justice  to  state 
that  they  also  claimed  to  have  some  other  gfiev- 
ances ;  among  them,  that  some  of  the  Northern 
States  by  their  statutes  obstructed  the  execution 
of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  but  the  only  States  that 
could  complain  much  on  that  score,  were  willing 
to  remain  in  the  Union,  while  South-Carolina, 
the  State  which  set  the  ball  in  motion,  perhaps 
never  lost  a  slave.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  no  act  of  the  National  Government  consti- 
tuted any  part  of  their  grievances.  They  did  not 
pretend  that  anjr  act  of  Congress  infringed  their 
rights,  and  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court 
were  mainly  such  as  they  would  themselves  have 
made.  Nay,  even  at  the  very  time  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's inauguration,  if  the  Cotton  States  had  al- 
lowed their  Senators  and  Representatives  to  re- 
main, they  would  have  had  a  decided  majority  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress  in  favor  of  the  exten- 
sion of  Slavery,  and  in  opposition  to  the  policy 
of  the  party  which  elected  him. 

The  great  cause  of  complaint  was,  that  a  man 
opposed  to  the  extension  of  Slavery  in  the  ter- 
ritories had  been  elected  President  of  the  United 
States  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Constitution 
'which  he  was  sworn  to  defend  and  protect,  and 
who  disclaimed  any  other  than  constitutional 
means  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  objects.  Un- 
der such  circumstances  it  seems  that  if  they  had 
labored  under  any  real  grievance,  their  course 
was  plain.  They  should  have  taken  the  course 
of  our  revolutionary  fathers.  When  the  States 
assembled  in  Convention,  instead  of  proceeding 
at  once  to  declare  their  independence — for  the 
jdea  of  Secession,  peaceable  %f  right.,  seems,  as 
Publius  says,  to  have  exploded  and  given  up  the 
ghost — should  clearly  and  concisely  have  stated 
what  their  grievances  were,  and  demanded  re- 
dress in  respectful  yet  firm  and  decided  terms. 
They  should  have  exhausted  every  constitutional 
means  of  obtaining  guarantees — if  any  were  need- 
ed— by  representation,  by  remonstrance,  by  pe- 
tition ;  and  failing  in  all  these,  they  should  have 
done  as  our  revolutionary  sires  did,  that  is,  fight 
in  the  Union  for  their  rights  until  they,  were 
driven  out  of  it.  Such  a  course  would  have  pro- 
cured for  us,  as  it  did  for  our  fathers,  the  respect, 
the  sympathy,  and  the  assistance  of  other  nations. 
Instead  of  that,  we  have  not  a  friend  in  Europe. 
But  such  was  not  the  course  which  these — in 
their  own  estimation — wise  statesmen  chose  to 
pursue.  "When  such  a  course  was  suggested  or 
reepmmended  to  them,  they  evaded  it  by  a  long  list 
of  magnificent  promises  which  looked  so  splendid 
as  almost  to  dazzle  the  mind  with  their  brilliancy. 

First  and  foremost,  they  promised  that  Seces- 
sion should  be  peaceable. 

Secondly,  they  promised  that  if  perchance  war 
should  ensue,  it  would  be  a  very  short  war,  that 
it  would  not  last  six  months  ;  that  the  Yankees 
would  not  fight ;  that  one  Southerner  could  whip 


DOCUMENTS. 


255 


from  ten  to  one  hundred  of  them  ;  that  England 
and  France  would  speedily  recognize  us  and  ren- 
der us  every  assistance  we  might  desire ;  that 
whatever  might  be  their  abstract  opinions  of  the 
subject  of  slavery,  their  interests  would  impel 
■them  to  promote  its  perpetuity  in  the  Southern 
States;  that  if  after  all.  they  should  not  be  dis- 
posed to  assist  us,  Cotton  was  King,  and  would 
soon  bring  all  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  on 
their  knees  in  supplication  to  us ;  would  com- 
pel them  to  raise  the  blockade — should  one  be 
established-^-in  thirty  days,  in  sixty  days,  in 
ninety  days,  m  one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  in 
six  months,  in  nine  months,  in  one  year  at  far- 
thest. 

Thirdly,  they  promised  us  that  all  the  slave 
States  except  Delaware  would  join  the  Southern 
Confederacy  —  that  slavery  should  not  only  be 
perpetuated  in  the  States,  but  that  it  should  be 
extended  into  all  the  Territories  in  which  the  ne- 
gro could  live ;  that  all  the  grievances  occasioned 
by  the  non-execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law 
should  be  speedily  redressed  ;  that  slave  property 
should  be  established  upon  a  basis  as  safe  as  that 
of  landed  property. 

Fourthly,  they  promised  us  that  the  new  gov- 
ernment should  be  a  mere  confederacy  of  States' 
of  absolute  sovereignty  and  equal  rights  ;  that 
the  States  should  be  tyrannized  over  by  no  such 
"central  despotism'1''  as  the  old  Government  at 
Washington ;  that  the  glorious  doctrine  6f  States 
rights  and  nullification,  as  taught  by  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son and  Mr.  Calhoun,  should  prevail  in  the  new 
Confederacy ;  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  States 
and  their  judicial  decisions  should  be  sacredly 
respected. 

Fifthly,  they  promised  us  the  early  and  perma- 
nent establishment  of  the  wealthiest  and  best 
government  on  the  earth,  whose  credit  should  be 
better  than  that  of  any  other  nation ;  whose  pros- 
perity and  happiness  should  be  the  envy  of  the 
civilized  world. 

And  lastly,  they  promised  us  that  if  a  war 
should  ensue,  they  would  go  to  the  battle-field 
and  spill,  if  necessary,  the  last  drop  of  their 
blood  in  the  cause  of  their  beloved  South. 

While  such  have  been  their  promises,  what 
have  been  their  performances  ?  Instead  of  se- 
cession being  peaceable  as  they  promised  that  it 
would,  it  has  given  rise  to  such  a  war  as  has 
never  before  desolated  any  country,  since  the 
barbarians  of  the  North  overran  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. 

So  far  from  the  war's  ending  in  six  months,  as 
they  said  it  would,  should  it  ensue,  it  has  already 
lasted  more  than  two  years,  and  if  their  policy 
is  to  be  pursued,  it  will  last  more  than  two  years 
longer ;  and  notwithstanding  their  predictions,  the 
Yankees  have  fought  on  many  occasions  with  a 
spirit  and  determination  worthy  of  their  ances- 
tors of  the  Revolution — worthy  of  the  descendants 
of  those  austere  old  Puritans  whose  heroic  spirit 
and  religious  zeal  made  Oliver  Cromwell's  army 
the  terror  of  the  civilized  world;  or  of  those 
French  Huguenots,  "  who,  thrice  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  contended  with  heroic  spirit  and  various 


fortunes  against  all  the  genius  of  the  house  of 
Lorraine,  and  all  the  power  of  the  house  of  Va- 
lois."  England  and  France  have  not  recognized 
us  —  have  not  raised  the  blockade  —  have  not 
shown  us  any  sympathy,  nor  is  there  any  proba- 
bility that  they  ever  will,  and  that  cotton  is  not 
king  is  now  universally  acknowledged.  And 
Maryland  has  not  joined  the  Confederacy,  nor 
has  Kentucky  nor  Missouri  ever  really  been 
with  us.  Slavery  has  not  only  not  been  perpet- 
uated in  the  States,  nor  extended  into  the  Terri- 
tories, but  Missouri  has  passed  an  act  of  emanci- 
pation, and  Maryland  is  ready  to  do  so  rather 
than  give  up  her  place  in  the  Union,  and  the  last 
hope  of  obtaining  one  foot  of  the  Territories  for 
the  purpose  of  extending  slavery  has  departed 
from  the  Confederacy  forever.  The  grievances 
caused  by  the  failure  of  some  of  the  Northern 
States  to  execute  the  fugitive  slave  law  have  not 
only  not  been  remedied,  but  more  slaves  have 
been  lost  to  the  South  forever  since  secession  was 
inaugurated,  than  would  have  escaped  from  their 
masters  in  the  Union  in  five  centuries.  And  how 
have  they  kept  their  promise  that  they  would  re- 
spect the  sovereignty  and  rights  of  the  States  ? 
Whatever  the  Government  may  be  in  theory,  in 
fact  we  have  a  grand  military  consolidation, 
which  almost  entirely  ignores  the  existence  of 
the  States,  and  disregards  the  decisions  of  their 
highest  judicial  tribunals.  The  great  central 
despotism  at  Washington,  as  they  were  pleased 
to  call  it,  was  at  any  time,  previous  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  secession  movement,  and  even 
for  some  time  after  it  had  commenced,  a  most 
mild  and  beneficent  Government  compared  with 
the  central  despotism  at  Richmond,  under  which 
we  are  now  living. 

Instead  of  an  early  and  permanent  establish- 
ment of  the  "wealthiest  and  best  government  in 
the. world  with  unbounded  credit,"  what  have 
we  got?  In  spite  of  all  the  victories  which  they 
profess  to  have  obtained  over  the  Yankees,  they 
have  lost  the  States  of  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Ar- 
kansas, Texas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Ten- 
nessee, and  in  my  humble  opinion,  have  lost  them 
forever;  and,  in  all  probability,  Alabama  will 
soon  be  added  to  the  number.  This  will  leave 
to  the  Confederacy  but  five  States  out  of  the 
original  thirteen,  and  of  these  five  the  Yankees 
have  possession  of  many  of  the  most  important 
points,  and  one  third  of  their  territory.  So  far 
the  Yankees  have  never  failed  to  hold  every  place 
of  importance  which  they  have  taken,  and  pres- 
ent indications  are  that  Charleston  will  soon  be 
added  to  the  number.  The  campaign  of  General 
Lee  into  Pennsylvania  has  undoubtedly  proved 
a  failure,  and  with  it  the  last  hope  of  conquering 
a  peace  by  a  successful  invasion  of  the  enemy's 
country.  Our  army  has  certainly  been  much 
weakened  and  dispirited  by  this  failure  and  the 
fall  of  Vicksburgh,  and  how  long  even  Richmond 
will  be  safe  no  one  can  tell.  As  the  Richmond 
Enquirer  said  some  time  ago,  "  they  are  slowly 
but  surely  gaining  upon  us  acre  by  acre,  mile  by 
mile,'*  and,  unless  Providence  interposes  in  our 
behalf — of  which  I  see  no  indications — we  will, 


256 


REBELLION  RECORD,  18R2-63. 


at  no  great  distance  of  time,  be  a  subjugated  peo- 
ple. 

As  to  our  unbounded  credit  based  upon  the 
security  of  King  Cotton,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
speak.  When  we  see  one  of  the  most  influential 
States  in  the  Confederacy  discrediting  a  very 
large  part  of  the  confederate  currency,  and  the 
confederate  Government  itself  repudiating,  to 
some  extent,  its  most  solemn  obligations,  we  can- 
not but  suppose  that  the  confidence  of  other  na- 
tions in  the  good  faith  and  credit  of  this  govern- 
ment is  small  indeed.  As  regards  their  promise, 
"  to  go  to  war  and  spill  the  last  drop  of  their  blood 
in  the  cause  of  their  beloved  South,"  I  will  say 
nothing.  Every  body  knows  how  the  secession- 
ists of  North-Carolina  have  kept  their  promise. 
Every  body  knows  that  the  leaders,  with  few 
exceptions,  will  neither  fight  nor  negotiate. 

What  a  deplorable  spectacle  does  the  foregoing 
history  present  to  our  view !  To  what  a  despe- 
rate pass  have  they  brought  us,  and  for  what  ? 
They  say  that  they  did  it  because  the  North 
would  give  us  no  guarantee  in  the  slavery  ques- 
tion. I  have  before  stated  that  not  one  of  the 
conventions  of  the  seven  Cotton  States  ever  de- 
manded any  guarantee  whatever.  Nay,  the}' 
even  refused  to  accept  of  any  if  their  friends  of 
the  Border  States  would  procure  them  for  them. 

The  Legislature  of  North-Carolina,  at  its  regu- 
lar session  in  January,  1861,  adopted  resolutions 
appointing  commissioners  to  the  Peace  Congress 
at  Washington  City,  and  also  to  the  Convention 
which  assembled  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  in 
February,  1861,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  a 
constitution,  and  establishing  a  provisional  gov- 
ernment for  the  confederate  States  of  America. 
On  the  motion  of  the  writer  of  this,  the  resolu- 
tion appointing  commissioners  to  Montgomery 
was  amended  so  as  to  instruct  them  "to  act  only 
as  mediators,  and  use  every  effort  possible  to  re- 
store the  Union  upon  the  basis  of  the  Crittenden 
propositions  as  modified  by  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia."  The  commissioners  under  these  in- 
structions were  the  Hon.  D.  L.  Swain,  General 
M.  W.  Ransom,  and  John  L.  Bridgers,  Esq.,  who, 
upon  their  return,  submitted  a  report  to  his  Ex- 
cellency, Governor  Ellis,  which  was  by  him  laid 
before  the  Legislature,  and  was  printed  among 
the  legislative  documents  of  that  year,  where  it 
may  be  consulted.  In  this  report  they  say  that 
they  had  the  most  ample  opportunities  of  ascer- 
taining public  opinion  in  the  Cotton  States,  and 
then  add:  "We  regret  to  be  constrained  to  state, 
as  the  result  of  our  inquiries,  made  under  such 
circumstances,  that  only  a  very  decided  minority 
of  the  community  in  these  States  are  disposed, 
at  present,  to  entertain  favorably  any  proposi- 
tion of  adjustment  which  looks  toward  a  recon- 
struction of  our  National  Union.  In  this  state 
of  things  we  have  not  deemed  it  our  duty  to  at- 
tend any  of  the  secret  sessions  of  the  Congress. 
The  resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly  are 
upon  the  table  of  the  Congress,  and  having  sub- 
nutted  them  as  a  peace-offering,  we  would  poorly 
perform  the  duties  assigned  to  us  by  entering 


into  discussions  which  would  serve  only  to  en- 
kindle strife." 

But  it  will  be  said  that  these  guarantees  could 
not  have  been  obtained  from  the  North.  This  I 
admit  to  be  true,  and  only  produce  this  piece  of 
history  to  prove  that  whatever  might  have  been 
obtained,  nothing  would  have  been  accepted. 
But  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  did  pass, 
by  the  constitutional  majority  of  two  thirds,  the 
proposition  reported  by  Mi*.  Corwin,  from  the 
Committee  of  Twenty-six,  to  so  amend  the  Con- 
stitution as  to  perpetuate  slavery  iri  the  States. 
What  stronger  guarantees  could  be  given  so  far 
as  the  States  were  concerned,  it  would  be  diffi- 
i  cult  to  conceive.  What  then  would  have  been 
left  to  quarrel  about  ?  The  Territories.  During 
the  session  of  Congress  which  closed  on  the  fourth 
of  March,  1861,  acts  were  passed  to  provide  tem- 
porary governments  for  the  three  remaining  new 
Territories,  to  wit,  Colorado,  Nevada,  and  Daco- 
tah.  These  acts  contain  no  trace  or  indication 
of  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  nor  any  other  prohibition 
against  the  introduction  of  slavery,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  expressly  declare  among  other  things, 
that  "no  law  shall  be  passed  impairing  the  rights 
of  private  property  ;  nor  shall  any  discrimination 
be  made  in  taxing  different  kinds  of  property, 
but  all  property  subject  to  taxation  shall  be  in 
proportion  to  the  value  of  the  property  taxed." 

Now,  when  it  is  considered  that  all  three  of 
these  Territories  are  north  of  thirty-six  degrees 
thirty  minutes,  and  that  in  the  new  territory  now 
owned  by  the  United  States  south  of  that  line, 
slavery  actually  exists  and  is  recognized  by  the 
territorial  law,  the  question  may  well  be  asked: 
"What  was  there  worth  quarrelling,  much  less 
fighting  about  ?"  Here  was  a  settlement  of  the- 
question  in  the  Territories  made  bj  a  Republican 
Congress  which  gave  the  South  all  that,  up  to 
the  time  of  the  Charleston  Convention,  she  had 
ever  asked,  and  far  more  than  she  could  hope  to 
gain  in  any  event,  by  secession.  Indeed,  I  think 
it  must  now  be  apparent  that  secession,  even  if 
it  could  have  been  effected  peaceably,  would  have 
been  no  remedy  for  the  grievances  of  which  they 
complained.  Nay,  so  far  as  any  grievances  aris- 
ing from  a  failure  to  obtain  a  return  of  our  fugi- 
tive slaves  was  concerned,  I  think  it  must  be 
apparent  that  it  would. have  been  an  aggravation 
instead  of  a  remedy  for  the  evil.  I  think  that  all 
calm  and  dispassionate  men  everywhere,  are  now 
ready  to  admit  that  it  would  have  been  far  better 
for  us  to  have  accepted  the  terms  offered  us  and 
preserved  peace  and  the  Union,  than  to  have 
plunged  this  once  happy  country  into  the  horrors 
of  this  desolating  war,  which  has  spread  a  pall 
over  the  whole  land — has  brought  mourning  into 
every  family  —  has  rendered  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  hearthstones  desolate  —  has  filled  the 
land  with  the  maimed  and  disabled,  with  widows 
and  orphans,  and  squalid  poverty — has  crowded 
our  poor-houses  and  alms-houses — has  sported 
away  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives,  and 
many  hundreds  of  millions  of  treasure,  only  to 
find  the  institution  for  which  they  profess  to  have 


DOCUMENTS. 


257 


gone  to  war,  in  a  thousand  times  greater  jeopardy 
than  ever  before. 

Such  being  the  condition  into  which  they  have 
brought  the  country,  the  question  presents  it- 
self: "Is  there  any  remedy  f  A  full,  complete, 
and  adequate  remedy,  there  is  not ;  for  what  can 
restore  the  loved  ones  lost — repair  at  once  the 
desolation,  or  remove  immediately  the  mourning 
from  our  land  ?  Yet  there  is  a  remedy  which, 
with  the  helping  hand  of  time,  will  accomplish 
much,  very  much  indeed,  and  which,  with  the 
energy  that  usually  follows  desolating  war,  will, 
perhaps,  remove  most  of  its  traces,  in  a  half-cen- 
tury. This  remedy  is  peace,  speedy  peace !  But 
they  say  that  we  are  so  situated  that  no  propo- 
sition for  peace  can  be  made  by  us  ;  that  having 
proclaimed  our  independence  we  must  fight  un- 
til it  is  voluntarily  acknowledged  by  the  United 
States,  or  until  we  are  completely  subjugated. 
On  the  meeting  of  the  British  Parliament,  which 
took  place  on  the  thirteenth  of  December,  1792, 
the  King  in  his  speech  to  the  Houses,  intimated 
his  intention  of  going  to  war  with  the  French 
Republic.  On  moving  the  address  in  answer  to 
the  speech  a  memorable  debate  arose.  On  this 
occasion  Charles  James  Fox  delivered  one  of 
those  powerful  speeches  which  have  made  his 
name  immortal  —  which  have  forever  stamped 
-  him  as  the  ablest  of  British  debaters,  and 
the  first  of  British  statesmen.  In  the  course 
of  that  speech  he  said :  "  But  we  now  disdain 
to  negotiate.  Why  ?  Because  we  have  no  min- 
ister at  Paris.  Why  have  we  no  minister  there  ? 
Because  France  is  a  Republic !  And  so  we  are 
to  pay  in  the  blood  and  treasure  of  the  people 
for  a  punctilio  !     .  The  road  of  common- 

sense  is  simple,  plain,  and  direct.  That  of  pride 
and  punctilio  is  as  tangled  as  it  is  serpentine." 
In  the  impassioned  language  of  Mr.  Fox,  I  would 
ask,  are  we  to  pay  in  blood  and  treasure  of  the 
people  for  a  punctilio  f  Shall  we  pursue  the 
path  of  pride  and  punctilio,  which  is  as  tangled 
as  it  is  serpentine,  or  shall  we  take  the  simple, 
plain  and  direct  road  of  common-sense,  which 
may  lead  to  the  happiest  results  ?  Four  fifths 
of  the  people  of  that  portion  of  North-Carolina 
bordering  for  many  miles  on  the  Yadkin  River, 
and  I  believe  of  the  whole  State,  are  in  favor  of 
the  latter  course. 

The  one  great  demand  of  the  people  of  this 
part  of  the  State  is  peace  ;  peace  upon  any  terms 
that  will  not  enslave  and  degrade  us.  They 
may  prefer  that  the  independence  of  the  South 
should  be  acknowledged,  but  this  they  believe 
cannot  now  be  obtained,  nor  in  viewing  the  situ- 
ation of  affairs  do  they  see  much  hope  of  it  in 
the  future.  They  natui'ally  ask  if,  with  no 
means  of  recruiting  to  any  extent,  we  cannot  hold 
our  own  against  the  armies  which  the  Yankees 
now  have  in  the  field,  how  can  we  'meet  with 
their  three  hundred  thousand  new  levies  which 
will  soon  be  in  readiness,  while  they  can  keep 
their  army  recruited  to  a  great  extent,  if  not  up 
to  its  maximum  number  from  adventurers  who 
are  constantly  arriving  in  their  ports  from  every 
country  in  Europe  ?    But  if  independence  cannot 

Vol.  VII.— Doc.  17 


be  obtained,  thert  they  are  for  any  terms  that  are 
honorable,  any  terms  that  do  not  degrade  us. 
Thejr  would  be  willing  to  compromise  upon  the 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  proposed  by  Mr. 
Corwin  from  the  Committee  of  Twenty-six,  per- 
petuating slavery  in  the  States  to  which  I  have 
before  alluded.  But  in  what  precise  way  over- 
tures shall  be  made,  or  the  movement  inaugu- 
rated, I  leave  to  wiser  men  and  abler  statesmen 
than  myself  to  propose.  I  would,  however,  sug- 
gest to  the  people  to  elect  members  to  the  next 
Congress  who  are  in  favor  of  proposing  an  ar- 
mistice of  six  months,  and  in  the  mean  time,  of 
submitting  all  matters  in  dispute  to  a  Convention 
of  delegates  from  all  the  States  North  and  South, 
the  delegates  to  be  elected  by  the  people  them- 
selves, in  such  manner  as  may  be  agreed  upon 
by  the  two  parties.  Others  there  are  who  desire 
that  the  people  of  North-Carolina  should  be  con- 
sulted in  their  sovereign  capability  through  a 
Convention — that  the  Legislature  should  submit 
the  question  of  "Convention  or  no  Convention" 
to  the  people  as  was  done  in  February,  1861. 
Such  a  Convention  would  undoubtedly  speak  the 
sentiments  of  the  people  of  the  State,  citizens  as 
well  as  soldiers,  as  all  would  be  consulted.  But 
I  propose  nothing  definite,  and  only  make  these 
suggestions  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  public. 
I  would,  however,  most  earnestly  appeal  to  the 
friends  of  humanity  throughout  the  State  to  use 
their  utmost  efforts  to  procure  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible an  honorable  peace.  In  the  name  of  rea- 
son,, of  suffering  humanity,  and  of  the  religion 
which  we  profess,  would  I  appeal  to  the  public 
men  and  statesmen  of  North-Carolina,  and  espe- 
cially of  that  eminent  statesman  who  possess  in 
a  greater  degree  than  all  others  the  confidence 
of  the  people  of  the  State,  and  who  has  recently 
been  elevated  to  a  high  place  in  the  confederate 
government,  to  lend  a  helping  hand  and  use  his 
influence  to  bring  about  an  honorable  peace. 
And,  lastly,  I  would  appeal  to  ministers  and 
professors  of  our  holy  religion  to  pray  constant- 
ly—  without  dictation  of  terms  —  to  Almighty 
God  for  an  honorable  peace. 

Having  but  recently  occupied  a  large  space  in 
your  columns,  I  feel  that  I  am  intruding,  and 
will,  therefore,  after  expressing  my  obligations 
to  you,  close  for  the  present.  Davidson. 

Clemontsville,  N.  C,  July  16,  1S63. 

— Raleigh  Standard,  July  31. 


Doc.  47. 


MORGAN'S   INVASION   OF   OHIO. 

ACCOUNT  BY  AN  EYE-WITNESS. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  1863,  the  Sec- 
ond and  Seventh  Ohio  cavalry  and  the  Forty-fifth 
Ohio  mounted  infantry,  together  with  Laws's  how- 
itzer battery,  left  Somerset,  Ky.,  for  Jamestown, 
for  the  purpose  of  watching  Morgan,  who,  with 
his  whole  brigade,  was  encamped  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Cumberland  River.  We  lay  there 
from  the  twenty -ninth  June  to  the  third  July, 
more  or  less  skirmishing  going  on  all  the  while — 


258 


REBELLION   RECORD,  1863. 


when  on  that  day  Captain  Carter  of  the  First 
Kentucky  cavalry,  with  detachments  of  the  Sec- 
ond Ohio  cavalry  and  Forty-fifth  Ohio  mounted 
infantry,  went  on  a  reconnoissance  toward  Co- 
lumbia. There  they  had  a  fight  with  the  ad- 
vance of  Morgan's  division,  which  we  then  found 
had  crossed  the  river  on  the  second  of  July. 
About  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third, 
Captain  Carter  was  very  seriously  wounded,  and 
the  enemy  pressed  us  so  closely,  that  we  were 
compelled  to  fall  back.  At  six  o'clock  a  detach- 
ment of  the  First  Kentucky,  Seventh  Ohio  cav- 
alry, and  Fortj'-fifth  Ohio  mounted  infantry  left 
Jamestown  to  reenforce  Carter,  and  arrived  at 
Columbia  about  eleven  o'clock.  They  found 
Carter  in  a  dying  condition,  and  Morgan  with 
three  brigades  in  full  possession  of  the  town. 

A  short  struggle  ensued  between  us,  for  we 
had  not  then  learned  the  strength  of  the  enemy, 
and  supposed  it  to  be  a  force  we  might  easily 
crush;  but  as  the  fight  went  on  we  found  the 
forces  with  which  we  were  contending  were 
larger  than  we  had  supposed  ;  when  we  fired 
musketry  we  were  answered  with  grape  and  can- 
ister ;  when  we  fired  a  few  rifle  shots  we  were 
answered  with  whole  volleys  of  musketry ;  and 
speedily  beating  a  hasty  retreat,  we  went  as  fast 
as  our  horses  would  carry  us  to  Jamestown. 
We  reached  that  place  about  five  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  fourth,  and  a  courier  was  instant- 
ly despatched  by  Colonel  -Wolford  to  General 
Carter,  in  command  of  the  United  States  forces 
at  Somerset,  announcing  that  Morgan,  with  his 
whole  force,  had  effected  a  crossing  of  the  Cum- 
berland River  at  Burkesville,  and  had  advanced 
north  to  Columbia.  From  this .  date  the  pursuit 
of  Morgan  commenced. 

At  six  o'clock  p.m.  there  was  an  unusual 
amount  of  satisfaction  expressed  in  the  counte- 
nances of  our  boys,  for  orders  had  just  been 
issued  for  all  the  mounted  troops  stationed  in 
Jamestown  to  prepare  to  move  at  a  moment's 
notice,  and  to  provide  themselves  with  six  days' 
rations.  It  was  a  relief  after  the  wearisome  mo- 
notony incidental  to  the  comparative  inactivity 
of  camp  life,  to  be  suddenly  called  into  active 
service,  and,  if  I  must  admit  it — the  pleasure  was 
none  the  less,  because  the  prospects  were  that 
the  chase  would  not  be  too  long  to  be  pleasant. 
Our  boys  therefore  set  about  making  their 
preparations  with  a  will,  and  in  a  few  moments 
we  were  ready  to  start.  It  was  well  that  there 
was  so  much  alacrity  displayed,  for  these  first 
orders  were  barely  issued  before  it  was  followed 
by  another  ordering  us  off  at  once,  and  a  few 
moments  more  saw  us  fairly  off  in  pursuit  of 
the  celebrated  raider. 

We  could  not  have  made  a  more  propitious 
start.  The  night  was  fine,  clear  and  cool.  The 
moon,  although  occasionally  obscured  by  light 
fleecy  clouds,  gave  sufficient  light  to  enable  us  to 
see  well  and  clearly  all  around  us,  so  that  we 
were  to  some  extent  free  from  apprehensions  of 
a  sudden  attack  from  any  hidden  foe.  The 
weather  was  sufficiently  cool  to  enable  us  to  ride 
.  along  without  discomfort,  and  altogether  the  ride 


from  Jamestown  to  the  banks  of  the  Green  River, 
on  that  splendid  July  night,  was  one  of  the  pleas- 
antest  marches  our  boys  have  ever  made.  The 
future  we  cared  little  about ;  chatting  and  laugh- 
ing and  singing,  we  proceeded  gayly  enough  on 
our  journey,  occasionally  speculating  among  our- 
selves where  we  should  meet  with  the  man  who 
had  become  the  great  object  of  our  desires,  and 
what  we  should  do  with  him  when  we  got  him, 
for  the  possibility  of  his  escaping  from  us  was 
never  entertained  for  a  moment. 

We  reached  the  northern  bank  of  the  Green 
River  about  daylight  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
fifth  instant,  and  after  a  hurried  breakfast  we 
again  started  in  pursuit,  marching  all  that  day 
and  camping  on  Sunday  night,  at  eight  o'clock, 
at  Casey  street,  where  we  were  joined  by  the 
Second  Tennessee  mounted  infantry.  The  result 
of  our  observations  convinced  us  that  our  commis- 
sary department  had  been  neglected.  We  had 
been  ordered  to  prepare  ourselves  with  six  days' 
rations,  but  many  of  our  boys,  having  faith  in 
Providence,  had  failed  to  provide  themselves, 
and  the  consequence  was,  we  found  ourselves 
with  a  bare  average  of  three  days'  rations  for  the 
whole  number  of  troops.  Consoling  ourselves 
with  vague  speculations  as  to  the  prospects  for 
foraging,  we  lay  down  to  rest  that  night,  and 
started  again  in  pursuit  at  half-past  six  o'clock 
the  next  morning,  the  sixth  instant,  and  drew 
rein  again  at  Bradfordsville  at  ten  o'clock.  There 
we  heard,  for  the  first  time  since  our  departure, 
of  any  of  the  movements  of  Morgan.  We  were 
informed  that  he  had  captured  our  forces  at  Leb- 
anon, and  had  then  left  that  place  for  Bargetown. 
Leaving  Bradfordsville  within  half  an  hour  of 
our  arrival,  we  took  up  our  line  of  march  for 
Lebanon,  arriving  there  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  At  this  place  our  forces  had  made 
some  resistance,  in  which  Tom  Morgan,  the 
brother  of  the  guerrilla  chieftain,  was  killed. 
In  revenge  the  rebels  burned  some  eighteen  or 
twenty  houses,  robbed  the  post-office,  cleaned 
out  the  stores,  and  plundered  and  robbed  and 
destroyed  all  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  An 
incident  occurred  here  which  may  perhaps  be 
worth  relating.  An  old  man  living  in  Lebanon 
had  two  sons  in  Morgan's  command,  who  had 
been  with  him  ever  since  the  commencement  of 
his  military  career.  During  the  absence  of  the 
young  men,  the  old  man's  house  and  lot  had 
been  sold  at  sheriff's  sale,  and  had  been  purchased 
by  a  strong  Union  man. 

The  rebels  were  informed  of  all  these  circum- 
stances by  the  two  sons,  and  proceeding  to  the 
house  they  burnt  it  to  the  ground,  leaving  its 
owner  almost  penniless  to  begin  the  world  again. 
Another  significant  thing  began  to  be  evident 
here.  John  Morgan,  who  had  heretofore  been 
so  popular  with  all  Kentucky  men,  was  begin- 
ning to  lose  a  little  of  his  popularity.  Certain 
little  murmurs  of  discontent  reached  our  ears  for 
the  first  time  from  some  of  those  who  are  spoken 
of  by  the  out-and-out  traitors — as  "  good,  strong 
Kentuckians."  Morgan's  men,  in  their  passage 
through  the  central  part  of  the  State,  had  been 


0003272" 

FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


TYSON'S 
l     BOOK  SHOP 

319  Citsar  Much  BIdg. 

SI  EMPIRE  ST. 
PROVIDENCE,  R,  L 


